His Last Chance
by Bakanokabe
Summary: The Doctor has his last chance to say goodbye. AU: Doomsday didn't happen. Oneshot.


The hospital was white and bright; the lights make it seem artificial, like something out of a horror movie. The Doctor walked through a corridor, passing doctors and patients, looking for one, particular room.

"425…425…" He murmured to himself as he passed another door. This hospital was very large and the Doctor wished he would just park the Tardis in the right room. After all, he couldn't be late. Not this time. This time, he had only one chance, and he was determined to use it.

Finally, he found it.

He took a deep breath and pushed the door open. Inside, there was a single bed, with a person lying on it. Besides the gentle beeping of hospital equipment, there was silence. There was no TV, nor radio in the room. The Doctor was partially relieved to see that there also weren't any guests.

He came closer to the bed to see the old woman lying on it. She was barely breathing and the Doctor could see that her end was near. He took a chair and sat next to the bed. Taking woman's hand, he whispered:

"You're a little bit different than I remember, you know."

She moved slightly and the Doctor knew she heard him. She opened her eyes, with great difficulty and looked at him.

"Doctor?" she asked. Her voice was rough and dry. The Doctor smiled.

"Here I am. How are you feeling?" he asked. Her breathing suddenly became irregular, and the Doctor moved closer to her, concerned, but then he realized, she was laughing.

"Oh, Doctor." She said after a few seconds. "How are you feeling is not the question you ask dying person. You are still so rude."

The Doctor grinned at her. "Yep, that's me. Still rude and still not ginger."

For a few moments, there was silence.

"I waited for you." She said, and the Doctor's smile disappeared.

"I know." He said quietly. "And I really wish it could've been different."

She smiled at him. Even if she was so much older than the last time he saw her, that smile was still the same. It brought back the memories of their travels.

"I'm not angry." The voice brought Doctor back to reality.

"I reckoned you wouldn't be. You rarely were angry with me." The Doctor turned his attention back to the woman. "Yep, I always said to them: I had this companion once, Rose Tyler was her name, and she was the most forgiving person I ever knew." He grinned again, despite the sadness he felt.

"So you are not alone? That's good." Rose closed her eyes.

Of course she wasn't angry with him. They could try lying to themselves, they could talk about "forever" all they wanted to, but the truth still remained: she was human, and he was a Time Lord. Her lifespan was so limited compared to his, so… insignificant. Now, when she was 87 years old, at the end of her life, and he was sitting beside her bed, looking as young as she remembered him she realized that difference better than ever. She couldn't blame him when one day he just left her on Earth, said his goodbyes and never returned.

But the years she spent with him remained, as wonderful memories, and she cherished them deeply.

"How was your life, Rose?" the Doctor asked. "Were you happy?"

"Oh, yes, I was." Rose smiled. "I had a husband; his name was James. And we had a wonderful daughter. Can you believe I'm a grandmother now?" She laughed.

The Doctor just smiled at her. "Tell me more." He said.

And she did. She told him how she met her husband, James, in some obscure pub. She told him how they fell in love and decided to get married. How disappointed Jackie was, when they said they wanted a small wedding and how happy they all were when their daughter was born.

"We called her Jane." She said to him, smiling at her own memories. "She was so small back then, so fragile. Now she's all grown up, a lawyer. She has two little boys on her own." She stopped talking for a moment. "I wonder if she will come today, before…"

The Doctor gripped her hand a little tighter and gave her a reassuring smile.

"I'm sure she will."

He sat there for hours more, talking with Rose about everything: her life, their old adventures, his newest companions. They were making many breaks, as Rose was too tired to be awake for so long, but she apologized for falling asleep every time.

Then, suddenly the door opened. A woman, around 45 years old stepped inside. She was visibly surprised to see anyone is in the room.

"Excuse me, who are you?" she asked the Doctor. He jumped to his legs, took her hand and shook it vigorously .

"Hello, I'm the Doctor. And you must be Jane!" He exclaimed. "She looks just like you." He said to Rose. "Well, besides she's older than you were when I last saw you."

"Rude, Doctor." Rose whispered with a smile.

Jane looked at him with disbelief.

"D…Doctor? Like the one in the stories?" she asked. "But you can't be real!"

"Oh, you told her stories about me?" He turned back to Rose and he nodded. "That's amazing!" then he faced Jane again. "But of course I'm real! Here, can you feel it? Two hearts!"

With these words he brought her hand to his chest and watched as her eyes widened in surprise and sudden realization.

"Sit down, both of you." Rose requested. They did as she wanted them to, with Jane still looking at the Doctor with suspicion. "It won't be long now."

All of Jane's attention turned to Rose at the very moment these words were spoken. Her eyes filled with tears as she took her mother's hand.

"Don't cry, Jane." Rose said. "I've had a good life." She looked at the Doctor with a smile. "I even got a little bit more out of it than most."

"Should I leave you two alone for a bit?" Doctor asked quietly. Jane nodded, she was clearly grateful that he proposed it himself. He looked at Rose one more time and left the room.

As he stood outside, he tried to cope with his own emotions. Waiting for death of someone he cared for so deeply was not something he usually did, but he couldn't do anything, aside from being there for her in her last moments.

Even he couldn't stop time.

He almost wanted to run away, to try and forget his sadness, but he knew that this was his last chance to say goodbye. So he stood there, waiting.

After a while (Was it ten minutes? Twenty? The Doctor couldn't tell.) the door opened and Jane let him back into the room.

"I… I think it's time." She said to him. "Won't they come, though? Doctors, I mean. Or nurses."

"I took care of it." The Doctor shook his head. "They wouldn't be any help anyway."

They both sat beside Rose's bed.

"I wished you could stay longer." The Doctor whispered. "I wished I didn't have to lose you."

"And so did I. But we can't change that now… and even if we could, I wouldn't." Rose's voice was getting weaker and weaker. "I just want to say…"

"Rose…" He knew he cried, but he didn't care any longer.

"Doctor, please." She closed her eyes. "That one last time, let me say it."

The Doctor nodded and Rose smiled.

"I love you, Doctor. Promise me, you'll take care of yourself." His hearts broke, but he smiled for her.

"I love you too, Rose. I will." His voice was shaking as he answered. Rose turned to Jane.

"Say goodbye to Mike and the boys for me, will you?" Rose was still smiling. "And remember that I love you."

"I love you too, mum." Jane whispered. And with that, life disappeared from Rose's eyes, and she let out her last breath.

Jane cried, still holding her mother's hand. The Doctor looked at Rose for the very last time.

"Goodbye, Rose Tyler." He stood up and left the room.

He was only half-conscious when he made his way back to the Tardis. Only a few moments for grief he thought, and then something new will begin.

But he couldn't shake off the sadness and grief. He only realized he was still crying. He got to the Tardis, pushed the door open and wanted to take off, when a sudden cry stopped him.

"Doctor!" It was Jane. He stopped and looked at her.

"I just wanted to say… thank you. For coming to her." She said. The Doctor smiled.

"It was my last chance to see her. I couldn't miss it." He replied. He wanted to go, but Jane stopped him for a while longer.

"I just wanted to say… If you would ever want to stop by… You will be welcome in our house." She took his hand. "I'm sure my sons would love to hear some stories about what their grandmother did on alien planets." She smiled.

"Thank you. I'll remember that." She took a step back and watched as he closed the Tardis doors behind him and as the blue box slowly disappeared.

And the Doctor begun his travels anew, to see how universe looks now, without Rose Tyler.


End file.
